Police don't expect Nov. 6 riots

'People expect that when citizens cast their vote, those votes will be counted fairly'

Published: 10/17/2012 at 10:43 PM

(The Hill) Police departments around the nation are not anticipating civil unrest on Election Day despite arguments between liberals and conservatives over whether President Obama’s defeat could spark riots.

In 2008, police departments in Oakland, Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia revealed they were taking special precautions in case public reaction to the election spiraled out of control.

Tensions were running high four years ago after the disputed results of the 2000 presidential election and long lines at polling places in poor urban areas in 2004.

James Carville said a month before Obama’s historic victory in 2008 that “it would be very, very, very dramatic out there” if Obama lost, a statement that some commentators interpreted as predicting riots.